Hip stems are available in different sizes such as small, medium, and the like, in order to accommodate the needs of individual patients and their unique anatomies. In many cases, different shaped hip stems are also available, such as primary stems or revisions stems. During surgery, it is desirable for the surgeon to carve out a portion of the inner cavity of the femur to closely match size and shape of an available hip stem, since different individual patients have bones with different anatomical shapes. One common practice is to shape the proximal cavity of the femur by removing part of the inner cancellous bone using a sharp broach or rasp. However, laboratory studies have shown that if cancellous bone is compacted instead of being removed from the bone cavity, it can provide a more stable bed for the implant. That is, compacting the bone can provide for a stronger interface connection between an implant and the bone, which can be true for both cemented and cementless implant applications.
Certain devices are known in the art for compacting cancellous bone, such as a bone tamp of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,437 (Gustilo et al.), which patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, such bone tamps have certain limitations due to the forces exerted on the femur when the bone tamp is pounded into the bone. Thus, there is a need to provide alternative devices and methods for compacting cancellous bone in a controlled manner, without exerting undue force on the bone.